Murderball
“Murderball” features fierce rivalry, stopwatch suspense, dazzling athletic prowess, larger-than-life personalities, and triumph over daunting odds. But “Murderball,” the original name for the full-contact sport now known as quad rugby, is played by quadriplegics in armored wheelchairs. Quad rugby players have suffered injuries that have left them with limited function in all four limbs. Whether by car wreck, gunshot, fist fight, rogue bacteria, or any of an endless list of possible misadventures, quad rugby’s young men have found their lives dramatically altered. Watching them in action – both on-court and off – smashes every stereotype one has ever had about the handicapped. It also redefines what it is to be a man, what it is to live a full life, and what it is to be a winner. “Murderball” is a story like no other, told by men who see the world from a different angle. Nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature, “Murderball” also took the Audience Award for an American Documentary and a Special Jury Prize for Editing at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.
About the Filmmakers
Dana Adam Shapiro
Dana Adam Shapiro is a former senior editor at SPIN, and a contributor to The New York Times Magazine and other publications. His first novel, The Every Boy, will be published by Houghton Mifflin in July. The movie is in development at Plan B. "Murderball’ is his first film.
Henry Alex Rubin
As a documentary filmmaker, Rubin made the award-winning “Who is Henry Jaglom?” (PBS, First Run Features, w/ Candice Bergen, Dennis Hopper) and “Freestyle” (w/ Mos Def, The Roots, J5), which was recently picked up by Palm Pictures after winning Best Documentary at the Woodstock and Urbanworld Film Festival. Additionally, he directed the second-unit on several films including “Cop Land” and “Girl Interrupted.” He is currently directing a mockumentary starring Winona Ryder.